War Hero

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s (Dstl’s) third-year engineering apprentices have recently graduated with every single apprentice being retained by Dstl and going on to take up roles across the business.

As the recently graduated apprentices all go on to jobs within the organisation, 20 more apprentices will be joining the scheme, taking the total number currently on the programme to 53.

The 5 apprentices who successfully completed the course; Cameron Fitze, Ben Churchill, Jamie Moore, Ewan Walker and Zac Hall, have collected awards at a number of competitions, including the prestigious Tom Nevard Memorial Competition.

The team also worked with schools to talk about the benefits of doing an apprenticeship, resulting in more than 100 applicants for the 2017 intake of engineering apprentices.

Zac Hall, 20, winner of Dstl’s apprentice of the year (mechanical), said:

It’s been a really good past 3 years and I’ve learned lots. I’ve come from not knowing what engineering really was, to being able to produce parts that help people out on the front line. Winning the award has been amazing – it just shows that the hard work that I’ve been putting in has paid off.​

Dstl’s outgoing Chief Executive, Jonathan Lyle, said:

The best bit of my job is to celebrate the achievements of people like this. We’re absolutely committed to our apprentice scheme and it’s fantastic that all 5 graduating apprentices have secured roles at Dstl. The Ministry of Defence and our other customers need the very best skills.​

Dstl’s apprentice scheme, now in its tenth year, brings in people of all ages and backgrounds, from school leavers to those looking for a second career or a change of direction. Applications for Dstl’s 2018 apprenticeship scheme will open in January 2018. For more information, visit Civil Service Jobs or Dstl’s Facebook page.